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VA Benefits and Asbestos

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) was established on March 15, 1989, succeeding the Veterans Administration that was founded in 1930. The VA is a government-run benefit system for U.S. military veterans and is responsible for administering benefit programs to veterans, their families, and survivors of veterans (which add up to approximately 74.5 million potentially eligible individuals). Benefits provided to veterans include disability compensation, pension, life insurance, home loans, education, vocational rehabilitation, survivors' benefits, and medical and burial benefits. An inconceivably complex system, the VA is the second largest federal department (after the Department of Defense).

The VA benefit program most known to the public remains the medical program. In 1930, the Veterans Administration operated 54 hospitals across the country. Currently, the health care system includes 155 medical centers, and the VA operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 135 nursing homes, 45 residential rehabilitation programs, 108 home-care programs, 209 Veterans Centers, and 872 ambulatory care and outpatient clinics.

Eligibility for benefits within the VA medical program is defined by a classification system that categorizes veterans based on a series of "priorities," which can be puzzling to define and appear to be subjectively limiting. For example, veterans exposed to toxic herbicides in the Vietnam War are classified as a "priority 6" (on a scale from 1-8, 1 being the highest priority), but veterans who were exposed to asbestos during service and subsequently developed mesothelioma (the deadliest disease caused by asbestos exposure) are not given any priority whatsoever.

Shockingly, the VA does not recognize mesothelioma as a "service-connected" condition. A "service-connected" condition is defined as any illness or disease linked to an individual's military service. Though the VA offers a series of Special Benefits programs for other defined service-connected illnesses, such as those designed for Agent Orange and the Gulf War Illness, no benefits are available for veterans suffering from asbestos exposure.

Many veterans across the United States plagued with asbestos-related diseases find themselves in a perplexing and costly situation. Veterans virtually have no avenues to pursue compensation for medical costs associated with asbestos-induced illnesses, which were most likely caused by exposure to the deadly substance while serving their country.

Although veterans with asbestos-related diseases are allowed to apply for medical benefits, the process can prove to be frustrating and fruitless. At the outset, veterans are required to provide proof that their condition is asbestos-related (and considering the VA stance on mesothelioma, this first step can feel nearly impossible). Secondly, veterans must offer indisputable evidence that their exposure to asbestos occurred while serving in the military - not at any time before or after. This process is not only time-consuming and costly, but in most cases proves reluctantly futile.

For more information on VA benefits, programs, and eligibility, please call (800) 827-1000 or visit www.va.gov.

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